Medicine Use In Dunkerhook During The Late Nineteenth-Century, An African American Midwife's Artifacts

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In the mid-19th century, midwives were local women, usually with children of their own, who had learned midwifery as apprentices. Observing and helping with deliveries accumulated their skills and exposed them to the variety of problems they would face when working on their own. Dunkerhook, a community established by formerly enslaved African Americans, was home to a midwife named Catherine Bennett. Archaeological excavation recently performed at Dunkerhook, has brought an astonishing amount of medicinal bottles that can give us an insight on healthcare remedies used. Lab research along with artifact analysis addresses artifacts recovered from excavation unit 8 and examines their potential link to medical treatment associated with midwifery.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SHA 2023 General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow